Chief John Anderton
John Anderton is the leading cop in the PreCrime division, a law enforcement unit charged with stopping future murders that have been pre-visualized using special technology. He is the protagonist of the film, and his journey through the film shows the fine line between right and wrong. Initially he is on the side of “right,” catching criminals and saving the day, but soon he becomes a fugitive wanted for the (future) murder of Leo Crow—a man Anderton has never seen nor heard of.
Anderton is likable and noble in character, well-respected by his fellow teammates. He is responsible, logical, strategic, and incredibly competent. In spite of all he has going for him, he still has deep psychological wounds stemming from the disappearance of his young son, Sean. Sean's disappearance sends John into a depression that he copes with by using an escapist drug, neuroin, and watching old home videos as though the past is still the present. Throughout the film, we watch as John fights against unthinkable odds to find the truth. By the end, he realizes that the organization he works for is founded on a lie, but through these dramatic events, he is reunited with his wife Lara, and finally reaches some peace of mind about the loss of his son. The biggest lesson that Anderton learns is that human beings always have a choice—that they can affect their own destinies.
Lamar Burgess
Director Lamar Burgess is the head and creator of the PreCrime division, which stops futures heinous crimes from happening. He does everything in his power to ensure that the PreCrime division, his legacy, continues to expand and grow. We discover that beneath his armor of charm and justice, Burgess has committed a coldblooded murder to ensure the success of his corporation.
While Lamar Burgess has seemingly created a better world, the price he paid to do so is corruption and murder. While he is a paternal figure for John Anderton in the beginning, offering him comfort and complimenting his many talents, he is revealed to be the antagonist of the film, a man who has committed terrible acts in order to preserve his own honor.
Agatha
Agatha is one of three Precogs. With the other two Precogs, she projects visions of crimes that have yet to happen to the PreCrime Division. Agatha is the most talented of the three Precogs, as Iris Hineman tells John when he visits her greenhouse. Her mother is Anne Lively, a mysterious murder case that John investigates.
Throughout the film, Agatha endures immense psychological pain, forced to witness bleak and traumatizing events over and over again. Even so, she is able to bring peace to John and his wife, Lara, when she tells a beautiful story about who their son would have been had he lived, which gives them closure on the event.
Danny Witwer
Danny Witwer works for the Department of Justice, and is conducting an audit of the PreCrime Division, as there is soon to be a decision made about whether PreCrime will expand. Witwer comes off as a hard-ass, picking at every loose end that he sees in the department, and even provoking people, including Anderton, to see if they will slip up.
A fastidious and careful man, Witwer is ultimately after the truth. He wants to know how PreCrime works, how it’s managed and if what it does is actually as good for the public as everyone believes it does. Witwer pursues Anderton after the Precogs name him as future murderer of Leo Crow. As Witwer chases down Anderton, however, he starts to see that things aren’t adding up. Just as he begins to see beneath the muddied surface of the PreCrime Division, he confides in Lamar Burgess, who kills him. Witwer's search for the truth costs him his life.
Lara Clarke
Lara is John Anderton’s ex-wife. They separated after the kidnapping of their son, and John’s grief sent him down a path of consistent drug use in order to deal with the pain. Lara has grieved differently than John, and their differences took a toll on the relationship. Now, 6 years later, she is ready to be in more contact with John, and she understands why he felt so broken up by the disappearance of their son. Lara is emotionally intelligent, kind, understanding, and in the end, essential to solving the mystery of Anne Lively. After Burgess accidentally reveals that he knows about Anne's death, Lara frees John, who saves the day and unveils Burgess as a murderer.
Fletcher
Fletcher is another cop in the PreCrime division, who spends much of the movie pursuing John Anderton.
Anne Lively
Anne Lively is the murder victim of Lamar Burgess, and the birth mother of Agatha. Once a neuroin addict, she has hopes of reuniting with her daughter once she gets off drugs, but her curiosity about her daughter gets her killed.
Jad
Jad is another colleague in the PreCrime division and a friend of John's.
Iris Hineman
Iris Hineman, together with Lamar Burgess, created PreCrime. Iris is an expert on the Precogs and knows exactly what they are capable of, but she has chosen to retire from the organization, and now lives in obscurity in a remote part of a forest, in a house protected by poisonous and aggressive plants. She is cold and smug with John, but she ends up revealing to him the potential existence of a minority report for his case, which gives him hope.
